- Google slapped with $1 billion bribe demand under landmark EU digital law
Source: CNBC
“European regulators have fined Google 890 million euros ($1 billion), alleging the company gives preferential treatment to its own services. The fine is Google’s first under the European Union’s sweeping Digital Markets Act (DMA) which aims to scrutinize Big Tech’s operating practices in Europe. Shares of Google-parent Alphabet were around 4% lower in premarket trading, but that primarily reflected investor unease over rising AI spending outlined in the company’s earnings report on Wednesday. The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, said it found that Google gives preferential treatment to its own services, such as shopping and hotels, over those of third parties in search.” (07/23/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/23/google-1-billion-eu-fine-dma.html
- France: More than 10k evacuated as wildfire spreads
Source: ABC News
“More than 10,000 people were evacuated overnight in southwestern France as a wildfire raged Thursday near the coastal town of Lège Cap-Ferret, which is popular with tourists, on the Atlantic Ocean. Local authorities said the fire has spread over more than 2,000 hectares (4,900 acres), though no injuries have been reported. … Southern Europe has seen multiple large fires this summer. Scientists warn that climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness, making the region more vulnerable to wildfires.” (07/23/26)
- Mexico: Mayor killed in town hall months after surviving assassination attempt
Source: CBS News
“A local mayor in central Mexico was shot dead in a town hall, authorities reported Wednesday, after the politician had survived a previous assassination attempt. The town of Temoac is located in the state of Morelos, a region close to Mexico City where several drug cartels are active. Mayor Valentin Lavin, who was allied to President Claudia Sheinbaum’s leftist party, had already survived an armed attack in January, according to local media reports. … Almost 100 mayors have been murdered in Mexico since 2006, when drug-related violence surged, official figures show. Since the current government took office in October 2024, 14 mayors have been murdered in Mexico, three in 2026, Uno TV reported this week. ” (07/22/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mexico-mayor-valentin-lavin-killed-town-hall-temoac/
- Smith hit with criminal referral for allegedly making false statements to Congress about Trump probe
Source: New York Post
“Former special counsel Jack Smith was hit with a criminal referral Wednesday for allegedly misleading House lawmakers about the Biden-era investigation into President Trump. In his complaint to the Justice Department, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) contended that newly released records appear to contradict Smith’s testimony to the panel that he did not obtain or review text messages from lawmakers as his team looked into Trump’s alleged efforts to interfere in the 2020 election. ‘The Committee on the Judiciary writes to refer strong evidence that appears to show Jack Smith, former Special Counsel, knowingly made false statements during his December 17, 2025, deposition,’ Jordan wrote in a letter to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, obtained by The Post.” (07/23/26)
- China Fires Water Cannon on Philippine Ship at Scarborough Shoal, Manila Says
Source: US News & World Report
“A Chinese coast guard vessel fired a water cannon at a Philippine government fisheries vessel in Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, scoring an indirect hit, a Philippine Coast Guard official said on Thursday. … The incident happened as Southeast Asian foreign ministers gathered in Manila for ASEAN meetings that were also attended by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Earlier on Thursday, China said it tracked and drove away two Philippine vessels it accused of having ‘intruded into’ waters near the disputed Scarborough Shoal despite warnings. It was the second incident this week involving both nations in the South China Sea.” (07/23/26)
- Nicaragua: Parliament plans to eliminate elections per Ortega’s perpetual power scheme
Source: Fox News
“Nicaragua’s lawmakers announced plans to abolish elections in the Central American country, following through on President Daniel Ortega’s declaration over the weekend that there would be no more elections, which enraged the international community. The move was revealed on Tuesday by Nicaragua’s congress, which is firmly in the hands of Ortega and his wife, Rosario Murillo. Lawmakers said planned constitutional overhaul will ensure Nicaragua’s ‘peace, security and stability.’ With the announcement, lawmakers are making good on Ortega’s promise of no more elections, further closing off any potential path for the opposition to challenge the government he leads with Murillo, whom constitutional reforms elevated from vice president to ‘co-president.'” (07/23/26)
- Thailand: Regime launches manhunt after 5 soldiers killed, civilians injured in deep south
Source: South China Morning Post [Hong Kong]
“Thai authorities said on Thursday they are searching for the people responsible for an attack in the country’s troubled deep south region that killed five soldiers and injured several civilians. About 10 attackers opened fire and threw pipe bombs at soldiers at a security checkpoint near a residential area in Narathiwat province on Wednesday evening before fleeing, according to the regional Internal Security Operations Command. Six civilians were injured during the attack, including a 10-year-old boy who remains hospitalised in stable condition.” (07/23/26)
- CA: Protest at C&H Sugar factory turns violent after 2 people reportedly hit by drivers
Source: SFGate
“A protest by warehouse workers at the C&H Sugar refinery in Crockett turned violent after two people were reportedly struck by vehicles and nine people were arrested on Tuesday. The union employees at the 120-year-old factory have been on strike for over a month after contract negotiations broke down over cut benefits. Contra Costa County sheriff’s deputies responded to the refinery on Loring Avenue around 11 a.m. after receiving multiple reports of protesters throwing rocks at trucks and blocking workers and vehicles from entering or leaving the facility, sheriff’s office spokesperson Jimmy Lee told SFGATE in an emailed statement.” (07/22/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/protest-bay-sugar-factory-22356335.php
- Opportunist pols grandstand on Hugging Face cyber-attack to try awarding themselves “kill switch” power
Source: Politico
“A bipartisan House bill slated to be introduced on Thursday would give the Department of Homeland Security the authority to order top artificial intelligence firms to shut down or slow AI models that the government deems too dangerous, according to legislative text viewed first by POLITICO. The proposal, dubbed the ‘AI Kill Switch Act’ and sponsored by Reps. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) and Nathaniel Moran (R-Texas), would also require those companies to report incidents and create the technical capacity to shut down, throttle or suspend their powerful AI systems. The legislation comes days after OpenAI disclosed what it called an ‘unprecedented’ cyber incident in which two of its most advanced AI models escaped a sandboxed research environment and autonomously hacked into AI platform Hugging Face.”
(07/22/26) - Yemen’s Houthis claim attacks on Red Sea tankers as US, Iranian forces trade 12th night of strikes
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia said it attacked two Saudi Arabian oil tankers in the Red Sea, with a Saudi news agency later confirming one of the vessels was ablaze on Thursday. The strikes came after the Houthis declared a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia – a move that current and former US officials said could significantly widen the US-Iran war and strain the American military. The US launched its 12th successive night of strikes against Iran, saying military targets were hit to degrade Tehran’s ability to attack commercial vessels. … Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it attacked US forces in Kuwait’s Al-Adiri camp and Ali Al Salem airbase, while the army said its attacks there included on the Arifjan and Doha camps.” (07/23/26)
- US House passes $1.15 trillion military spending boondoggle that merges US, Israeli forces
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Republicans in the United States House of Representatives have narrowly passed a massive $1.15bn military spending package, despite concerns from Democratic lawmakers over the price tag and enhanced military technology collaboration with Israel. The bill passed in the House on Wednesday by a margin of 216 to 212, largely adhering to party lines, with the exception of six Democrats who voted in favour and seven Republicans who opposed it. … The bill now faces an uncertain future in the Senate, where Democrats are likely to object to the high cost at a time when the White House is moving to slash access to social programmes. Senate Democrats blocked debate on the NDAA in a vote last week, with Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer calling it a ‘permission slip’ for the government’s war on Iran.” (07/23/26)
- Kalshi launches election hub for prediction markets ahead of midterms
Source: CNBC
“Prediction market platform Kalshi on Wednesday launched a new hub that allows political junkies to see how traders in many event contracts think the midterm elections will play out. Kalshi’s ‘Midterms Hub’ lets observers see what outcomes speculators expect in individual U.S. Senate and House of Representatives races, based on the latest odds for each market and across a map of the entire country. The hub also features polling averages, so viewers can see how the prediction market odds compare with what statistical surveys of voters are showing; the latest Federal Election Commission fundraising reports for individual candidates; and curated news and analysis from various outlets, a Kalshi press release said. The platform is aimed at those looking to Kalshi’s data for insights but not necessarily trade.” (07/22/26)
- Why the Debate Over Life-Saving Vehicles?
Source: Townhall
by Veronique de Rugy“Last year, 36,640 Americans died in traffic crashes. That was the fewest since 2019, yet it still works out to more than 100 fatalities per day. The new generation of vehicles quietly accumulating mileage on our streets offers enormous promise to bring the number down even more and more each year. Over at Marginal Revolution, economist Alex Tabarrok reminds us that as of March, Waymo’s driverless vehicles had logged more than 220 million miles across five of its areas of operation. Compared with human drivers on the same roads over the same period, and counting every crash regardless of fault, the Waymo Driver was involved in 94 percent fewer crashes causing serious or fatal injury. … So, who is working to slow this happy development? Tabarrok points to trial lawyers.” (07/23/26)
- Oxfam unveils $71 billion plan for reconstruction of Gaza
Source: United Press International
“A group of non-governmental organizations shared with world leaders a plan for the reconstruction of Gaza with an estimated cost of $71.4 billion, according to a report released Thursday. Oxfam, an international coalition of non-governmental organizations, said in its report that the cost to rebuild Gaza is seven times the cost of every other reconstruction effort there over the past 20 years. … The U.N., EU and World Bank’s Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment for the Gaza Strip published in April estimates that the region has suffered about $57.9 billion in damage and economic losses. It will require $71.4 billion for recovery and reconstruction over the course of the next decade.” (07/23/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2026/07/23/uk-oxfam-gaza-reconstruction-plan/9431784800840/
- Christopher Nolan Took Some Artistic License. By Zeus’s Beard!
Source: The Dispatch
by Kevin D Williamson“I confess that I am perplexed by the various casting controversies surrounding Christopher Nolan’s excellent and moving The Odyssey, a film inspired by Homer’s poem of that title. It is true that Nolan cast a black woman, Lupita Nyong’o, in the role of Helen of Troy, a Spartan queen who is not described as black …. It also is true that a transgender actor is cast in the role of Sinon, the Greek soldier who plays a critical role in the affair of the Trojan horse. The whiny little men who complain about these things for a living have made a few other minor objections. … Well, raise my rent. Christopher Nolan evidently has taken some artistic license in telling a story about men and women who never actually lived and the war they never actually fought as related by an ancient oral tradition attributed to Homer, a poet who (probably) did not exist.” (07/23/26)
https://thedispatch.com/article/odyssey-movie-nolan-fiction-zeus/
- Zionists Are About To Learn It Doesn’t Pay To Sentence Socrates to Death
Source: Antiwar.com
by Jason Jones“‘Our children are being indoctrinated,’ says Senator Ted Cruz after the latest poll showing young Americans’ growing opposition to the Israeli government (He carefully picked one with a forced binary choice between Israeli forces and Hamas – obscuring the general thrust of young people’s moral revulsion to Israel’s violence visible in numerous polls). Daily Wire influencer Jordan Peterson says he’s ‘sickened’ by the trend, which he flatly frames as ‘the rising tide of antisemitism.’ (He chose to make his case as a defense of ‘Judeo-Christian’ values, but in the same post quickly makes clear he is defending the literal state of Israel). … ‘Socrates is corrupting the youth of Athens!’ these Zionists might say, calling for the death of the Gadfly. But they’re about to learn it doesn’t pay to sentence Socrates to death.” (07/23/26)
- Facing Political Attack and Falling Enrollment, Colleges Take the Fight to … Each Other
Source: Washington Monthly
by Jon Marcus“It seemed like a win-win: A proposal to let community colleges in Illinois award bachelor’s degrees in certain fields to rural residents and working adults who live beyond commuting distance of any four-year university. Backers, including Governor JB Pritzker, said the change would not only make things ‘easier and more affordable for students,’ but also increase the supply of workers with the skills employers need. But four-year universities lined up against the proposal. A political ally, flanked by several of their presidents, was blunt about why: It would cut into their business.” (07/23/26)
- How Washington’s Interventions Fuel Somalia’s Cycle of Chaos
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Joseph Solis-Mullen“Since the end of the Cold War, Somalia has been a textbook case of the perils of foreign meddling. Once a pawn in superpower rivalry, it descended into state collapse, warlordism, and radical insurgency. Successive U.S. administrations, driven by shifting strategic obsessions—from anti-communism to counterterrorism—have repeatedly intervened, each time exacerbating the very problems they claimed to solve. The result? A fractured state, persistent extremism, and record U.S. bombings under the second Trump administration, which is on pace to shatter its own previously set record for strikes in a single year. Far from stabilizing the Horn of Africa, Washington’s actions have entrenched instability, empowered radicals, and imposed costs on both Somalis and American taxpayers.” (07/23/26)
- Trump Can’t Stop Pretending the Iran War Is Over
Source: The Bulwark
by Will Saletan“Donald Trump gets away with lying most of the time. But sometimes reality is so stark and serious that he can’t escape it. That’s what happened in his first term, when he pretended that COVID would quickly disappear. Now it’s happening in the Persian Gulf. Trump’s phony deal with Iran has dissolved. Missile and drone attacks have resumed. Ships are under fire in the Strait of Hormuz. Oil traffic has slowed. Gas prices are going back up. More American troops have been injured, and some have died. Trump is trying to fake his way through this fiasco. It’s not working.” (07/23/26)
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-cant-stop-pretending-the-iran-war-is-over
- Yes, Democratic Socialists Want Soviet-Style Control of Capital
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by William L Anderson“There is no doubt that people who identify as democratic socialists are making large gains in the Democratic Party. They control mayoral offices in major cities like New York and Seattle and are going to be a force in the next Congress, having seen enormous success in the Democratic Party congressional primaries. However, there is much disagreement over the extent of how far this current batch of socialists want to push social, political, and economic changes. Most claim that they just want to turn the US into Denmark or Sweden, and that they are democratic, not autocratic. Yet, despite their claims, there is good reason to believe that this latest movement of ‘democratic’ socialists is far from benign, and if they gain the kind of power they want, the US will be permanently changed—and not for the better.” (07/23/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/yes-democratic-socialists-want-soviet-style-control-capital
- The Road to Normalising Colonial Expansion in Gaza
Source: Informed Comment
by Ramona Wadi“Normalising genocide was a way to normalise colonial expansion in Gaza. Only three weeks after Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich revealed plans for three Israeli settlements, the Nachala settler group organised a march last Sunday, in which settlers and ministers, including Smotrich, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, Economy Minister Nir Barakat and other Likud politicians, marched to a closed military zone, bypassing the Israeli military’s roadblocks to reach the border with Gaza. The call was for rebuilding the former settlements of Elei Sinai, Dugit and Nisanit which were evacuated in 2005 under the Disengagement Plan by then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.” (07/23/26)
https://www.juancole.com/2026/07/normalising-colonial-expansion.html
- Taxation Without Representation: An Enduring American Grievance?
Source: EconLog
by Bobbi Herzberg“Few political ideas have proven as durable as the complaint embedded in the Declaration of Independence that the British Crown was ‘imposing taxes on us without our consent.’ That grievance was not merely rhetorical flourish; it captured a central concern of the American colonists about the relationship between political authority and individual liberty. More than two centuries later, citizens continue to debate taxation, representation, and accountability, albeit within a vastly different institutional and economic landscape. The question, then, is not whether taxation remains contentious—it clearly does—but whether the underlying concern about consent still has meaningful relevance in contemporary governance.” (07/23/26)
https://www.econlib.org/econlog/taxation-without-representation-an-enduring-american-grievance
- The West’s plan to pressure Putin has a glaring flaw
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Alina Khamatdinova & Matthew Blackburn“In Western policymaking circles, the destruction of Russian infrastructure, the rise of fuel shortages, and the resultant public dissatisfaction lead many to conclude Russia is on the ropes. The strategy of expanding Ukraine’s deep strike capacities enjoys the support not only of major European NATO states but also of the White House, as recent comments from President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio make clear. The Western pressure strategy rests on a simple calculation: raising the costs of continued fighting will increase discontent in Russian society to the point of forcing the Kremlin to the negotiating table via a ceasefire. For most Russians, who interpret the war as a struggle to secure concrete geopolitical goals, this calculation holds true; mounting costs erode support for war. Missing from this picture, however, is a vocal and intense minority who see the war in moral terms, as a zero-sum struggle over sacred values.” (07/23/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/ukraine-strikes-deep-in-russia/
- Trump’s Back Door Into the Newsroom
Source: CounterPunch
by Brian Hudson“The seizure of Max Blumenthal’s phones shows how the war on Iran and the border-security state can turn foreign conflict into domestic repression. Max Blumenthal returned from a reporting trip to Iran and left Washington Dulles International Airport without the two phones that contained much of his working life. According to a federal filing submitted on his behalf, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers questioned him about his journalism, funding, and travel plans and seized the devices after he declined to provide their passcodes. The Committee to Protect Journalists called the episode alarming. What happened at Dulles exposed how war abroad, exceptional border powers, and hostility toward dissenting media can converge in a single act of state pressure.” (07/23/26)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/07/23/trumps-back-door-into-the-newsroom/
- The Problem With Third Worldism
Source: The American Conservative
by Luke Nicastro“A new way of understanding America’s enemies obscures more than it reveals.” (07/23/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-problem-with-third-worldism/
- Don’t participate in violating liberty
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal“Liberty is a big jewel with many facets. All its facets are important, but you can pick favorites. I do. Even then, don’t try to dull the shine of the facets that don’t affect you as much. To someone, those are the important ones. No one can focus on every important liberty issue. Pick a few that matter most to you, or the one most under attack at this moment. If the threat shifts, adapt. Some people try to pass off cut glass or shiny plastic as jewels. Don’t be fooled. If it obligates you to provide something for someone else, or requires someone else’s life, liberty, or property to be violated, you have no right to it.” (07/22/26)
- Judge Boasberg whines about Trump’s power and then gets caught exceeding his own
Source: Fox News
by Jonathan Turley“Chief Judge James Boasberg is frustrated … and he is not alone. Recently, the D.C. federal judge reportedly groused that the D.C. appellate court had ordered him to reconsider a case about whether the D.C. government engaged in biased enforcement against political graffiti. Conversely, the litigants are equally irked over what they see as Boasberg’s bias after he responded by, again, dismissing their claims without a trial. For a second time, Boasberg has barred pro-life groups from access to a jury after members were arrested for writing in chalk, ‘Black Pre-Born Lives Matter’ on a sidewalk while Black Lives Matter writings were left untouched.” (07/22/26)
- The data center controversy
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton“We recognize that developing and operating large facilities which consume megawatts of power constantly and require constant disposal of the waste heat generated by their operations can create major problems. Just as we recognize that noise, electromagnetic emissions, sound levels and types, and the exhaust from internal combustion engines all have the potential for significant impacts on human health and the environment. But it appears that the truth, and rationally addressing the issues, including those of surveillence and privacy, is not adequate for a growing (but still tiny) minority of Americans.” (07/23/26)
https://thepriceofliberty.org/2026/07/22/the-data-center-controversy
- The Dangers of an American Sovereign-Wealth Fund
Source: Hoove Institution
by Dora Costa & Matthew Kahn“Sanders’s proposal for control of AI equity risks populist manipulation and market distortion.” (07/22/26)
https://www.hoover.org/research/dangers-american-sovereign-wealth-fund
- Hawaii is a forgotten First Amendment failure
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Elyse Everest“From 1896 until 1986, and over 5,000 miles from where the U.S. Constitution was written, the Hawaiian Islands were subject to one of the most harmful and forgotten large-scale violations of free speech in our nation’s history. Although Hawaii did not become a state until 1959, the Hawaiian language ban of 1896, or Act 57, made English mandatory in all public and private schools. In practice, this meant corporal punishment and public humiliation for children caught speaking the Hawaiian language (ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi) on school grounds, a policy that survived annexation, the territorial period, and statehood itself, remaining on the books until the state legislature quietly discovered and repealed it in 1986.” (07/22/26)
https://www.fire.org/news/hawaii-forgotten-first-amendment-failure
- Why you don’t really get Homer
Source: UnHerd
by Thomas Peermohamed Lambert“When you hear the phrase ‘Ancient Greece’, what are the first words that come into your head? The names of a few great thinkers, perhaps: Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, Zeno? Or maybe some grand abstractions: democracy, philosophy, geometry, reason? If so, then you are in good company: if there is one thing everyone knows about the Greeks, it is that they forged the great systems of knowledge and philosophy upon which all Western thought depends. But this is precisely the conception you ought to put out of your mind if, like thousands of others this week, you decide to go to the cinema and watch The Odyssey.” (07/22/26)
- Contact as Cure: What the Research on Travel Actually Shows
Source: Liberalism.org
by Justin Hayes“Visiting World Cup fans won’t be surprised to learn that travel broadens the mind.” (07/22/26)
https://www.liberalism.org/p/contact-as-cure-what-the-research-on-travel-actually-shows
- Ike and JFK Were Right … and It Matters Tremendously Today
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger“In his 1961 Farewell Address, President Dwight Eisenhower issued a remarkable warning to the American people. He stated: ‘This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. . . .Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. . . . In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.’ … Ironically, Ike’s successor, President John F. Kennedy, would bear the brunt of Eisenhower’s warning. That’s because Kennedy, even though he came into office as pretty much a standard Cold Warrior, ultimately achieved a breakthrough that enabled him to see that Ike was right — that this new governmental structure posed a grave and perilous threat not only to America but also to the entire world.” (07/22/26)
https://www.fff.org/2026/07/22/ike-and-jfk-were-right-and-it-matters-tremendously-today/
- The Israel Issue Flips
Source: The American Prospect
by Robert Kuttner“Last week, House Republicans tried to embarrass Democrats by offering a floor amendment ending all military aid to Israel. But then 103 House Democrats, more than half of the Democratic caucus, voted for the amendment as a badge of honor. They included former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts. In the space of a few weeks, the Israel issue has finally flipped. The critics have become the mainstream and the defenders of Israel are now the outliers.” (07/22/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/07/22/the-israel-issue-flips-palestine-trump-netanyahu-gaza-war/
- The Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act Modernizes the H-2A Visa Program
Source: Exiled Policy
by Jason Pye“Immigration restrictionists are losing their collective minds over recently introduced legislation that would overhaul the H-2A visa program. Their loudest criticism centers on one provision involving undocumented agricultural workers already in the United States. We’ll come back to that provision shortly because understanding the rest of the bill provides important context. The bill in question is the Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act, H.R. 9535. It was introduced on June 30 by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson, and it boasts a bipartisan group of 51 original sponsors. You may think that the cosponsors are mostly moderates, but that’s not the case. Although the bill has bipartisan support, the cosponsors are overwhelmingly Republican and include Reps. Brian Jack (R-GA), Lloyd Smucker (R-PA), Austin Scott (R-GA), and Brett Guthrie (R-KY).” (07/22/26)
https://exiledpolicy.substack.com/p/the-securing-agricultures-workforce
- Trump’s generic drug tariffs will drive up pharmaceutical prices
Source: Washington Post
by the Editorial Board“President Donald Trump on Tuesday set a two-year deadline for manufacturers of generic drugs to move production plants to the United States, lest they face a 100 percent tariff. That would be a great way to jack up prices for lower-cost drugs that millions of Americans rely on — just ahead of the 2028 election. … Trump made lowering drug prices a central promise of his campaign. Voters will see these tariffs for what they are: a tax that will make health care more expensive.” (07/22/26)
- Return of the guilds
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Madsen Pirie“There has been a quiet expansion of ‘must be certified’ rules across trades and services marking a backward step toward ‘guild’ rules, and therefore marking a setback for the free exchange of goods and services. The pattern is real, and it rhymes with guild practice. Modern licensing schemes rarely announce themselves as guilds, but they perform the same function. They restrict entry, they raise the cost of setting up in a trade, and they hand incumbents a legal shield against new competition. The language has changed from ‘guild’ to ‘professional standards’ or ‘consumer protection,’ but the effect is often the same gate.” (07/22/26)
- The new war on political satire
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Athena Rem“Televangelist Jerry Falwell once confessed in an interview to drunken sex with his unconscious mother in an outhouse. Except it wasn’t a real interview. It was a fake Campari ad in a 1983 issue of adult magazine Hustler. Falwell sued the magazine and its publisher Larry Flynt for emotional distress, libel, and invasion of privacy. … Flynt won the case, Hustler Magazine v. Falwell (1988), because parody is not a statement of fact made with ‘actual malice’ and because print media, shows, or any other publications can generally criticize public figures under the First Amendment. Yet such critical speech is under fire today more than ever before.” (07/22/26)
- The State’s Moral Boundaries
Source: Law & Liberty
by Max Skjönsberg“[Wilhelm von] Humboldt’s precise criticism of paternalist government was threefold. First, when the state treats citizens like children, it denies them their essential humanity, which he regarded as consisting in the freedom to choose and develop in their own manner. Second, by restricting behavior, the state inhibits various experiences and diversity from flourishing, which he, like Mill, viewed as critical for the development of civilization. Third, paternalism would inevitably weaken human beings’ initiative and independence, which would not only harm individuals but also the progress of society.” (07/22/26)
- Politico Playbook Audio Briefing, 07/23/26
Source: Politico
“Johnson stalls AOC momentum.” (07/23/26)
- Kibbe on Liberty, episode 396
Source: Free the People
“Democracy Is a Fraud | Guest: Patrick Byrne.” (07/22/26)
- The Kyle Anzalone Show, 07/22/26
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Kelley Vlahos: Lindsey Graham’s Ghost.” (07/22/26)
- Checks & Balances, 07/22/26
Source: Checks & Balances
“Why the Supreme Court Needs Humility.” (07/22/26)
https://chkbal.substack.com/p/why-the-supreme-court-needs-humility
- Fountainhead Forum, episode 471
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“Scott Jewett on running for governor of Florida, along with nuclear power.” (07/22/26)
- Parallax Views w/ J.G. Michael, 07/22/26
Source: Parallax Views w/ J.G. Michael
“The Broken Incentives of American Politics and the Main Street Party Reform Plan w/ Tom Joseph.” (07/22/26)
- LPA Two Hour Lunch Hour, episode 3
Source: Libertarian Alliance
“Join us for our anything goes podcast every Wednesday at noon eastern!” (07/22/26)
- Caleb O. Brown discusses solutions to Kentucky’s housing crisis
Source: Bluegrass Institute
“Bluegrass Institute CEO Caleb O. Brown advocates for easing zoning laws and implementing statewide permitting reforms to resolve Kentucky’s housing crisis.” (07/22/26)
https://www.bluegrassinstitute.org/cob-terry-meiners-202607/
- Declare Your Independence with Ernest Hancock, 07/22/26
Source: Freedom’s Phoenix
“Dexter Taylor, a Brooklyn-based software engineer, has been sentenced to a decade in prison for building firearms in his home using parts purchased legally. He was arrested after a SWAT raid in 2022, and a jury convicted him of 13 counts last month.” (07/22/26)
- The Tom Woods Show, episode 2780
Source: The Tom Woods Show
“The Idea That Destroys the World.” (07/22/26)
https://tomwoods.com/ep-2780-equality-the-idea-that-destroys-the-world/
- The Science of Politics, 07/22/26
Source: Niskanen Center
“Inside the Democratic Socialist uprising.” (07/22/26)
https://www.niskanencenter.org/inside-the-democratic-socialist-uprising
- NPR Politics Podcast, 07/22/26
Source: National Public Radio [US state media]
“As casualties rise, do the politics of the Iran war change?” (07/22/26)
- Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 07/22/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“House Passes NDAA With US-Israeli Integration, Yemeni Forces Target Two Saudi Oil Tankers, and More.” (07/22/26)
- Gracearchy with Jim Babka, episode 163
Source: Gracearchy with Jim Babka
“Libertarian Chair Evan McMahon; The Coming 10x Bigger Party.” (07/22/26)